In August 2012, Switzerland had approximately 8 million residents. Major cities include Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern and Lausanne.

Languages

German (63.7%), French (20.4%), Italian (6.5%), Romansh (0.5%)
Other (8.9%) In recent years, as in many countries, English has become increasingly important. Thus, it is increasingly common for the Swiss to converse in English if they are from different linguistic regions. Schools in some German-speaking cantons have started to teach English, instead of French, as a second language.

Religion

Freedom of faith and conscience prevails in Switzerland. The two main denomi-nations are Roman Catholic and Protestant (Reformed-Evangelical).